Back when we first moved to Oregon, I had a member of our meeting ask me a very important question for people in Oregon. He asked, “Are you a mountain guy or a beach guy?” Growing up a Hoosier and living most of my life in the Midwest, I had never once pondered such a query. I responded by saying, “I think I’m a beach guy.” That response was because I had never really been to the mountains. Sure, I had driven through them or stopped to look from a distance, but that was about it. I had been to the beach more times than I could count, so it must be the beach.
In the coming years, our family would take road trips. Many of which found us among the mountains out west. We found ourselves on Mt. Saint Helens, the Olympic Mountains, Mt. Hood, Mt. Washington, Three Finger Jack, The Grand Tetons, and even atop the mountains at Glacier National Park. Last week, we continued those journeys since coming back to Indiana by heading to the Great Smoky Mountains. Even though the elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains are about half of what they are in Glacier National Park, the views are still as stunning and unique with the “smoky” moisture layers and multiple shades of blue.
Come to think of it, the last time I was in the Great Smokey Mountains was after my senior year of high school before heading to college, just like our son, Sam. One place I wanted to return and take my family in the Great Smoky Mountains was Clingmans Dome. When I visited back in high school, I was not as aware of how we stole land from the First Nations people to make our national parks and to diminish the sacredness of the land. Today, at the base of Clingmans Dome the National Park System has placed an explanation which reads as follows.
“Clingmans Dome is a sacred mountain to the Cherokees, where the Magic Lake was once seen. The Great Spirit told the Cherokees that, “if they love me, if they love all their brothers and sisters, and if they love the animals of the earth, when they grow old and sick, they can come to the magic lake and be made well again. For Cherokees, these mountains have meant refuge, homeland, and a mythical and spiritual foundation for their people. During the Indian Removal Period of the 1800s known as the Trail of Tears, the mountains meant safety from pursuing soldiers. Today these slopes provide a refuge and offer inspiration for visitors from a hectic modern society.”
As I read that, I began to realize, I too found refuge in these mountains from our hectic modern society, the current pandemic, the racial unrest, and the political season. My family had headed to the mountains for healing, refuge and rest – all that a vacation should afford. But it was the Great Spirit’s words that spoke deep into my soul atop Clingmans Dome. As I looked out upon the silence and beauty from 6,643 ft. I heard our world being summoned by the Great Spirit in much the same way Jesus uttered the greatest commandments - love God, love ALL our brothers and sisters, even the animals of the earth, so that we can grow old and return to these sacred places for healing.
I sensed a rather straight forward leading in that moment - we are going to continue to struggle with receiving the healing benefits of the mountains, or creation in general, until we first put our priorities in order. I sensed deeply that unless we are more intentional about loving God, neighbor, even the animals, we are going to continue to struggle with finding the full benefit of all that we are offered. As I climbed back down Clingmans Dome, I found myself somewhat refreshed, having enjoyed the view, yet keenly aware that it was time to get back to those priorities the Great Spirit and Jesus had stated – to love God and neighbor.
Just maybe as I work to love God and my brothers and sisters, I will find myself becoming more and more a “mountain guy” and begin receiving the full benefits of all God wants to lavish upon me from the mountaintops of this world. To help us spiritually “head to the mountains” this week our Self-Led Worship Guide will be focused on spiritually looking at mountains – be sure to check it out.
Grace and peace,
Bob
Joys & Concerns
Meeting Safely! We applaud the “Serenity Now!” support group for continuing their meetings—in a safe manner! Here they are meeting in the courtyard, safely distanced from each other.
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Interested in our men’s small group? Last Spring Kent Farr helped start a men’s book club small group at First Friends. The group is currently meeting on alternating Thursday nights at the home of Derek Snell to take advantage of great weather and have space to spread out, with the garage and Zoom being our backups. If you would like to join us for the next group of discussions, please contact one of us directly. We’ll begin sharing the next book, a collection of Steven Crane's short stories "The Open Boat and other Stories" on July 23rd. We've chosen to explore Glennon Doyle's "Untamed" after that.
Western Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions! All are invited to join the WYM annual sessions this July 24-26. As a reminder, there will be no First Friends Sunday Service this weekend as all are encouraged to virtually attend the WYM annual sessions and Sunday service (where our own Bob Henry will be recorded!). The info on the events taking place can be found in their most recent email blast, which you can find here: https://bit.ly/WYM2020info. You can also find more information, as well as register on their website at https://www.westernyearlymeeting.org/2020vision. The registration deadline is tomorrow (Thursday)! To access the Zoom links each day when it is time to meet, please visit https://www.westernyearlymeeting.org/2020connection using password WYMQuaker (case sensitive!). If you have any questions, you can contact Western Yearly Meeting at westernym@sbcglobal.net.
Join us from virtually anywhere in the world as the Oak Leaf: Meeting for Reading discusses Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink (558 pages).
In the tradition of the best investigative journalism, physician and reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs 5 days at Memorial Medical Center and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled mightily to survive and to maintain life amid chaos.
After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients last for rescue. Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths.
Five Days at Memorial, the culmination of six years of reporting, unspools the mystery of what happened in those days, bringing the reader into a hospital fighting for its life and into a conversation about the most terrifying form of health care rationing.
In a voice at once involving and fair, masterful and intimate, Fink exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals just how ill-prepared we are in America for the impact of large-scale disasters—and how we can do better. A remarkable book, engrossing from start to finish, Five Days at Memorial radically transforms your understanding of human nature in crisis. (goodreads.com)
Amy S will be leading the discussion in via Zoom starting at 7 pm on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.
Growing and Cooking with 깻잎 Perilla - By Heather D
Heather, holding perilla leaves
Heather, one of our community gardeners, traveled to S. Korea last summer. She teaches Culinary Arts and is now growing Korean vegetables in our Community Garden. She has developed a taste for them and is sharing some of her expertise in this issue’s gardening article.
Perilla is a leafy Korean vegetable that has a pleasant taste somewhere between mint and basil and is a little peppery. Perilla is also sometimes called sesame leaf although it is actually part of the mint family. The Korean name for perilla is 깻잎 or kkaennip.
It's used in many traditional Korean dishes. Perilla is used alongside lettuce as a wrap for grilled meats. It can be made into a type of kimchi (naturally fermented and full of probiotics!), pickled, or even made into savory fritters! Perilla is also used as a filling for gimbap (also spelling kimbap) which is similar to Japanese sushi. The key difference is that gimbap has all cooked or fermented/pickled ingredients. It typically has seasoned beef or tuna, pickled daikon radish, and egg, wrapped in seasoned sticky rice and nori seaweed sheets. These recipes are available at www.maangchi.com.
Perilla is low maintenance and easy to grow. It does well in a large pot with self draining soil or outside in the ground. Simply sow perilla seed directly into the soil where you wish them to grow, covering them with a thin soil layer. They need partial to full sun and are self seeding for the next year.
Source: https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/perilla-leaves
Buy local: Saraga International Grocery, located at 3605 Commercial Dr, Indianapolis
Buy online: Kizawaza's Seeds https://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_260-172.html
Support First Friends! Friends, during this time we are still in need of your support to keep the Meetinghouse going, to continue online Meetings for Worship, and to keep our ministries afloat. As we all learn to navigate this new world of social distancing together, we are happy to share new and easier ways you can continue to support the Meeting while stuck at home! First Friends now accepts online giving and giving through text. We also highly encourage setting up automatic payments with your bank! You can do so by signing into your online bank account and setting up payments to First Friends. Please visit www.indyfriends.org/support for more information or to give. If you have questions or would like to be walked through how to do it, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org or call 317-255-2485. Thank you for supporting First Friends, especially during these times!
Did you miss the premiere of our past Sunday Service? Don’t worry if you missed it, you can watch it ANYTIME at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BUvWo3lF4g. We hope you had a wonderful and safe Sunday!
Queries for the Week
(From online service)
What are the practices I need to do to sustain me in this marathon?
What might I be willing to sacrifice?
How do I face my fear for the future?
(From self-led guide)
How am I being intentionally present to the love of God and allowing the Breath of God to fill and restore my soul?
What am I learning about the Spirit and its role in my spiritual formation?
How, each day, can I find time to just breathe?